Friday 11th March 2011 Fire at Blair Castle
A fire has damaged Blair Castle, a 13th Century Scottish castle in
Pitlochry, Perthshire. Seven firefighter crews attended the blaze
which has damaged the ancient castle’s clock tower. Blair Castle dates
back 740 years and is the country seat of the Dukes and Earls of
Atholl. A Tayside Police spokesman said: "At 8.35pm police and the
fire and rescue service were called to a fire at Blair Castle in
Pitlochry. The fire was contained to the clock tower and there were no
persons injured. The cause has not yet been determined." Perthshire

Thursday 24th February 2011 Backing for Perth city status
First Minister Alex Salmond has joined other senior Scottish
politicians in a call for Perth to be made Scotland’s seventh city.
Perth’s city status was removed in 1975 as part of a local government
reorganisation. Despite having a cathedral, making it an
‘ecclesiastical city’, Perth is still legally only a town. Perth has
entered a UK-wide competition to be made a city again, a contest with
just one possible winner. City status can only be granted by the Queen
under royal prerogative, although it is nowadays done under advice
from ministers. Perthshire

Friday 3rd December 2010 Thief asleep on the job
A thief fell fast asleep while stealing from a house he had broken
into. The hapless crook then did not wake up until the owner arrived
home, a court has heard. John Harrison, 16, broke into a home in
Coupar Angus, Perth and Kinross, and started to help himself to the
home-owners possessions. But then, inexplicably, the burglar decided
to lay down in the master bedroom for forty winks. Home-owner Jillian
Norris returned to her house and discovered Harrison asleep there at
0500 BST. The youth ran off with £600 of jewellery when disturbed.
Harrison, who had already been placed on curfew, was arrested and
admitted the theft. Perth Sheriff Court granted Harrison three months
to complete the Right Track programme for young offenders ahead of
sentencing in February. Perthshire

Monday 4th October 2010 Mystery truffles found in Perth school garden
Pupils digging vegetables from a Perth school garden dug up a truffle
which has baffled experts. The discovery at Moncreiffe Primary School
in Perth was initially identified as a Scottish summer truffle. Now
wild food expert Andrew Fraser has said it is not a variety he had
ever seen before in Scotland. "They are truffles - we just don't know
what sort they are," he said. "They're not Scottish summer truffles. I
need to get another expert to look at them. They're a whitey-brown
colour - but white truffles have never been found in the UK before."
The truffle could be worth hundreds of pounds per kg if they are
edible. Moncreiffe Primary School head teacher Karen Young, said:
"Children from one of the school gardening groups were harvesting
their potatoes, onions and beans, when they dug up something they
didn't recognise.” The pupils found about 250g of truffles, but the it
is thought there could be more in the garden. Perthshire

Wednesday 29th September 2010 Scone Palace arch destroyed by white van man
A van smashed through the historic arch at Scotland’s Scone palace,
completely destroying the ancient gateway. The 16th century arch was a
surviving part of an Augustinian abbey which once stood in palace
grounds. William Murray, the master of Stormont and son of the 8th
Earl of Mansfield, has pledged to rebuild the ancient archway and said
that experts would be called in to assess the damage. Mr Murray said
he was hopeful that the iconic stonework could be saved with the help
of modern technology. He said: "Historic Scotland and our own
architects and engineers will have a good look at it." Perthshire

Tuesday 6th July 2010 No booze on train for T in the Park revellers
Some trains used by people travelling to festivals will be dry in an
attempt to curb anti-social behaviour and inconvenience to other
passengers. Those heading to T in the Park by train from Inverness
this weekend will not be allowed to drink alcohol on the train after
an alcohol ban was imposed by British Transport Police and ScotRail.
Trains from Wick to Inverness and Inverness to Perth on Thursday and
Friday morning will be affected. A spokesman for BTP said: "This is
not about being some sort of killjoy but ensuring that anyone
travelling or working on the rail network can do so safely and without
hindrance." Perthshire

Wednesday 30th June 2010 No vuvuzelas with your T in the Park
Festival-goers will not be able to take vuvuzelas into T in the Park
festival. The extremely loud (have you heard on of these in real
life?) and rather controversial South African plastic horn will be
banned at this year's festival, which runs from 9 to 11 July at Balado
in Perth and Kinross. Acts including rapper Eminem and rock bands Muse
and Kasabian are expected to play in front of an 85,000-strong crowd
over the weekend. A spokesman for DF Concerts said: "As T in the Park
is a music festival and whilst there is always a fantastic party
atmosphere we have also got to respect the artists and the thousands
of fans who want to hear their music without being disturbed by noises
such as vuvuzelas in the crowd." Perthshire

Tuesday 18th May 2010 Todd & Duncan buys back cashmere site
The cashmere yarn spinner Todd & Duncan sold by parent company Dawson
International last year to China's Zhongyin Cashmere Company has
bought back its old site. The company secured their interest on the
land and buildings of its former 19-acre site on the banks of Loch
Leven in Kinross in a deal that should secure the future of the
company's 200 employees

Todd & Duncan now sources the majority of its yarn from China and
exports about 60% of its product to the European market. It supplies
some of the world's largest fashion houses including Gucci, Prada and
Chanel. Perthshire

Thursday 15th April 2010 56th egg produced by ageing Osprey
An osprey reputed to be the oldest in the UK has produced her 56th egg
at her nest at Loch of the Lowes reserve in Perthshire. Wildlife
watchers spotted the osprey when she returned from a 3,000-mile
migration to west Africa hunched over an egg. The bird is
25-years-old, having far outlived the average eight-year life span the
birds can expect.


Emma Rawling, SWT's Perthshire ranger, said: "This individual bird is
truly a wonder of nature. The osprey faced persecution in the early
20th century and was very nearly driven to extinction by 1916. But our
old girl seems determined to do her bit to help repopulate the
species. This is the 56th egg she has produced, and so far 46 chicks
have successfully fledged the nest over previous breeding seasons." Perthshire

Wednesday 24th February 2010 Scottish gold rush
The only surviving commercial gold mine in Scotland has floated on the
London Stock exchange. The £2m funds raised in the issue will help
develop the mine at Glen Cononish, near Tyndrum, although a total of
some £12m will be needed for the work. It has been suggested there may
be as much as £70m in gold in the mine.

Chris Sangster, chief executive of Scotgold, said: "We are in a very
fortunate position that in 1997 when the project was due to have gone
ahead before, most of the technical work had already been completed,
so we have picked up on that technical work, updated with a bit of new
technology, and we are almost ready to roll.” Perthshire